| This week, our First Impressions reviewers weigh in on In the Garden of Monsters by Crystal King, a strange and beautiful retelling of the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone that unfolds in post-World War II Italy and features Salvador Dali.
Our latest e-zine is stuffed with fiction from internationally known authors like Yuri Herrera, Richard Powers, Yoko Tawada, and other significant names. In Editor's Choice, we review Louise Erdrich's The Mighty Red, a drama set in a North Dakota farming community that may haunt your dreams. Our "beyond the book" article for Sally Rooney's latest novel Intermezzo covers her recent appearance in Dublin.
We also invite you to join us in celebrating Hispanic American Heritage Month by exploring Hispanic American and Latinx American writers in our Latinx Authors category.
Plus, see if you can solve our latest Wordplay! | | With best wishes,
The BookBrowse Team
| | Each month, we share books with BookBrowse members to read and review. Here are their opinions on one recently released title. | | | In the Garden of Monsters by Crystal King
"In the Garden of Monsters takes place in immediate post-WW2 Italy with a modern reenvisioning of the myth of the abduction of Persephone by Hades, the god of the underworld. Julia is an artist, just graduated from the Art Academy in Rome, who has no memory of her past life. But when hired by Salvador Dali as his muse and taken to a strange palace and garden, something about her past is in the background...The descriptions of the palace, the food, and the Garden of Monsters are beautiful and intriguing." —Sonya M. (Takoma Park, MD)
"I know quite a bit about Dali and Gala, and I felt they were realistically portrayed, as were all of the characters. I didn't need to be familiar with the mythology because the pertinent points of the myths were included in the novel. The story was mysterious and very entertaining. I think this book would be enjoyed by fans of the All Souls series by Deborah Harkness." —Laura D. (Newmarket, NH)
"What a great balance between mythology and reality...I will remember this book for a long time and recommend it to friends and my two book clubs." —Agnes G. (Southern Pines, NC) | | | The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich
Permit me to break the fourth wall. Like any good reviewer, I aim to analyze a book dispassionately, on its own terms. But personally, the true sign of a powerful work of fiction is if I dream about it—if I find myself in a character's shoes, feeling all the dread or confusion or exhilaration that they felt.
And that is exactly what happened with The Mighty Red, Louise Erdrich's latest novel. The action built slowly—Erdrich's specialty—until one night I awoke sweating and grasping for consciousness to escape the book's suffocatingly small town and its desperate personalities. This is a fundamentally human story, suffused with elements of the supernatural, resulting in something both relatable and fantastical—and moving enough to influence your subconsciousness.
The Mighty Red takes place from 2008 through the early 2010s, with the Great Recession as a backdrop and the rural Red River Valley in North Dakota as its setting. Casual high school lovers Kismet Poe and Gary Geist stumble into an ill-advised marriage immediately after graduation. Kismet is actually in love with someone else and isn't ready to commit to either man, but a family crisis and Gary's overwhelming desperation push her into the marriage. ... continued
Review by Rose Rankin | | | This issue of The BookBrowse Review contains reviews and "beyond the book" articles for 14 titles, including significant fall fiction releases such as The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk, Model Home by Rivers Solomon, and Intermezzo by Sally Rooney.
We also bring you a giveaway of Jesmyn Ward's Let Us Descend, book club recommendations, previews of upcoming books, and more.
Not Yet a Member? Do you love to spend your reading hours immersed in captivating storytelling and intriguing ideas?
Then a BookBrowse membership is for you! What you see on BookBrowse for free and in this newsletter is just a small part of what is available to members—for just $3.75/month! Join Today! | | | Sally Rooney Reads from Intermezzo in Dublin
On Saturday, September 21, 2024, more than 500 people gathered at the National Concert Hall in Dublin, located a few meters from St. Stephen's Green, a setting in Sally Rooney's new novel Intermezzo. The Irish author, one of the most influential figures on the contemporary literary scene, greeted the audience with a warm smile and a hand over her heart in a gesture of gratitude to those attending the presentation of her latest novel.
Sally Rooney has become a global phenomenon. She could be defined as a literary Taylor Swift: the publication of her books has caused bookstores to open early to accommodate long lines of people eager to get a copy; limited and autographed editions of her works sell for hundreds; her fans, mainly young women, accumulate her merchandise. TIME, the same magazine that named Swift Person of the Year in 2023, included Rooney in its list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2022. In the same issue, Lena Dunham described Rooney as "a writer who speaks such basic truths." That is perhaps the key to her success in popular culture: the ability to connect through intimate, honest, and imperfect stories. ... continued
Article by Alicia Calvo Hernández | | | Celebrate Hispanic American Heritage Month (September 15–October 15) with our Latinx Authors category, where you can find nearly 50 recommended and featured books from writers of Latin American descent, including Hispanic American and Latinx American authors like Jennine Capó Crucet, Patricia Engel, Valeria Luiselli, Elizabeth Acevedo, and more.
This is one of 100+ themed categories you can explore on BookBrowse to find the perfect read for your book club or yourself. Members can access all categories and filters to narrow their browsing, while non-members have limited access. | | | Solve our Wordplay puzzle to reveal a well-known expression, and be entered to win a one-year membership to BookBrowse!
"J O the B" | | | The answer to the last Wordplay: As D A A D
"As Dead As A Doornail"
Meaning: Something that's as dead as a doornail is absolutely, unquestionably, unequivocally dead.
If you’re like me, you first came across this phrase on page one of Charles Dickens' classic novella A Christmas Carol (1843). I think it's probably this single paragraph that made me fall in love with this author's work:
Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it: and Scrooge's name was good upon 'Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to. Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail. ... continued
Wordplay by Kim Kovacs | | With so many new books published every month, it's difficult to find the standouts, the ones that are really worth your time. This is why hundreds of thousands of readers rely on BookBrowse to do the hard work of sifting through the multitude of titles to find the most promising new books, with a focus on books that entertain, engage, and enlighten. | | BookBrowse Highlights is just one of our free newsletters. We also offer Publishing This Week every Sunday, and Book Club News and Librarian News monthly. We send out Genre Specific Emails occasionally. | | | | |
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